140 The Bird 



oned mate and young. I say probably, because no one 

 has seen them do this, but as in captivity the operation 

 occurs repeatedly during the breeding season, there can 

 be but little doubt concerning its evident significance. 

 After walling up his mate and her egg in some hollow 

 tree, the male hornbill takes upon himself the labour of 

 supplying her with food throughout the period of incu- 

 bation and the subsequent rearing of the young bird. 

 Instead of bringing food piecemeal, — nut by nut, grape 

 by grape, — the lining of the entire gizzard peels off at 

 certain frequent intervals, appearing, when ejected at 

 the mouth, like a small bag or purse, the puckered open- 

 ing (heightening the simile) serving to retain securely 

 the contents of the gizzard, — a dozen or score of grapes 

 or other fruit. This, the male bird, in his native land, 

 doubtless takes in his beak to the tiny opening of the 

 walled-up nest and delivers into the bill of his mate. 

 How admirable a spouse this, who not only seeks and 

 provides sufficient food for his temporarily helpless 

 family, but bears it to them wrapped in a packet torn 

 from his very body — if not a ''pound of flesh," at least 

 enough to make a lunch-basket! 



The Intestines 



Beyond the gizzard is the intestinal canal, which 

 varies greatly in length in different birds. The ostrich 

 has forty-six feet of this digestive tube, while the nectar 

 and tiny insects snatched by a hummingbird in its flight 

 are digested in a delicate hair-like duct but two inches in 

 length. Although comparatively of such great length, the 



